My Siberian Husky 11yrs is panting at night

Hello Dr. Cheng,
Just a little background...I have a wooly coated Siberian Husky. She is 11 yrs old and looks and acts a lot younger. (Just like her owner! heee) She had a late spaying at 4 yrs old and 7 months ago I found a small tumor on her belly lower right side. My vet diagnosed it as breast cancer. He removed it right away. I found it right away too. It was not there one day and there the next. So within 4 days it was removed.
She pants more often,we keep her in air conditioning. We walk her every night and no breathing problems then. At night I'm up late working on my laptop she will wake up and start panting really fast and shallow her tongue sticks out a little too. I listened to her chest and it sounds rough when she pants. Then she will put her head down and slowly calm down to normal breathing, but if I move or go to the bathroom she will pop her head up and start panting again really fast. It's scares me. I forgot to mention she has cataracts and they have become progressively worse in the past year. She can tell light from dark and seems to find her way around just fine. But she rarely jumps up on the bed anymore because she starts panting if she falls asleep and wakes up on the bed and can't see. So I got her a ramp which she rarely uses. Do you think it's anxiety from the loss of vision? Or heart or lung problems? Or just a dog getting older?
Thanks,
Sharon

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Dogs do very well with loss of vision because their sense of smell is so powerful that it can act like sonar.  It is theorized that dogs can 'see' with their noses.  Her anxiety may be due to her breathing problem, or joint pain, among other possibilities.  At her advanced age,  arthritis, and some joint pain is a strong possibility, which is probably why she won't jump on the bed, it could be painful for her to jump up or down.

I would get her to your veterinarian.  She should have chest and abdominal X-Rays performed, and ECG, and an echocardiogram if necessary.  An ultrasound of her abdomen can also be done if an abdominal mass is found on X-Rays.  The kind of breathing problem you describe could be heart or lung problems such as: cancer spread to her lungs, many kinds of heart disease, COPD, hyperadrenocorticism, and even parasitic disease (heart worm disease), and others.  If she has a large abdominal mass that presses on her diaphragm it could also cause breathing difficulties.

If she has had heartworm disease in the past it could have damaged her heart.

Heart disease and COPD (airway and lung disease) cannot be cured but with luck can often be controlled nicely with medication.  Hyperadrenocorticism and parasites also have treatments.  However, if there has been metastasis to the lungs from her mammary adenocarcinoma (or other cancer), than depending on the stage and the type, she may need surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.  If there is a holistic veterinarian near you, alternative treatments are occasionally beneficial if you elect not to have surgery and chemo for her.

I sincerely hope there is a positive outcome.  Let me know!

Thanks, Dr. Cheng

[B-bunch]

Thank you for the great feedback. I'm saving it in case she has more problems. I took her to my vet yesterday and he did a physical checked her heart and lungs etc. He said he heart was normal and lungs sounded clear. He said panting is a symptom of aging and it is just a natural progression. He had taken an X-Ray of her chest back in January when he removed her small mammory tumor, so it was all clear then. She got an "all good" from my doc so I'll just have to learn how to deal with an aging dog. By the way she can still jump up on the bed without a running start so she is still really strong. Huskies are naturally athletic she pulls like crazy on walks. Pretty good for an old lady.
THank you for your diagnosis thoughts and for sharing your knowledge. It's wonderful that you can find the time to help people with pet problems this way.
Best,
Sharon